


First We Flirt

by NotEvenCloseToStraight



Series: On Air Shenanigans [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Awesome Pepper Potts, Bucky Barnes Fluff, Cheesy, Developing Relationships, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humour, Fluffy, Getting Together, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Hilarious, Hooking up, M/M, Sam Wilson is a Gift, Steve Rogers is Not a Virgin, Stucky is Goofy, This is technically a prequel, Workplace AU, Workplace Relationship, i just wrote it all in the wrong order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-15 04:59:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18067019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotEvenCloseToStraight/pseuds/NotEvenCloseToStraight
Summary: Before there was Secret Santa Shenanigans, and before Cupid Came Calling, Pepper and Sam were only co workers and Steve had just been hired as the sports anchor for Channel Eight News. Bucky was the Fed-Ex delivery guy and Tony was the station manager who didn't know his life was about to get very interesting.When Sam falls for Pepper, there are innuendos and flirty smiles a plenty, and when Steve catches Bucky shaking dat booty in front of the green screen one day, its only a matter of time before they start hooking up right?Read the beginning stories of our faves before they all got down to those On Air Shenanigans





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a pre-quel to my Secret Santa Shenanigans and Cupid Comes Calling fics! Enjoy the "before" story of Pepper and Sam and the way Steve met Bucky

Steve enjoyed his job at Channel Eight News.

The interview had been easy enough, even though Steve had _actually_ come looking for a job behind the camera and yet somehow had landed a job at the sports desk. In retrospect, talking about the good old days of high school football had probably had something to do with it.

Mr. Coulson had seemed a little star struck by the whole ‘ _named All-American player and led my team to state four years running and landed full ride scholarship to play college ball_ ’. Steve had wisely kept his mouth shut about how he’d  _actually_ wanted to be an artist, and just shook Coulson’s hand and signed the paperwork for the sports anchor position.   
  
And it could be argued-- and  _had_ been argued, several times and loudly-- that Steve knew absolutely nothing about his job and had to Google most of everything-- and those that argued that would be absolutely correct-- but the numbers didn’t lie.

Channel Eights viewer polls had _sky rocketed_ after adding Steve to the team, his easy grin and ridiculously good looks combined with earnest blue eyes making sure that no one cared how badly he butchered players names, as long as he kept wearing shirts that fit just a li-i-i-i-ittle too tight on camera.   
  
Pepper and Sam were hilarious and friendly, taking him out for drinks and laughing at his terrible jokes. Station manager Tony was hot enough that Steve almost threw his back out the first he snapped around to get a better look at at the way the tight black pants stretched across Tony's butt. And the pay-- well it was way more than Steve had ever made as an artist and more than he would have made as a camera man, so Steve stuck around.

And he also probably stuck around to see the Fed-Ex guy because  _boy howdy_  was the brunette some sort of gorgeous that Steve really needed to get his hands on.

As it worked out, Steve was the kind of gorgeous the Fed-Ex guy wanted to get his hands on too, so it was only a matter of time before something had to happen. 

 

*****************

  
“Hey-Oh! Delivery time!” Bucky knocked on the door of the newsroom just like he usually did, but it didn't look like anyone was around. “Hello? Delivery! Fed-Ex guy!” 

“Can't we just drop the boxes and leave?” Clint was running routes with Bucky today, and shoved at him to move so he could wheel in a second cart of packages. “What’s the big deal?”   


“No way.” Bucky pushed his hair out of his eyes and started going through his checklist. “This place gets real expensive stuff, they gotta sign cos if somethin’ goes missing then it’s my fault. One time I forgot one box and the hottest, scariest redhead I’ve ever seen gave me a talkin’ to about it. Thought I was gonna die.”   


“Gave you a talking to?” Clint repeated, stacking the boxes near the back wall. “You make it sound like she was gonna put you over her knee and spank you.”   


“And I woulda let her too.” Bucky grinned and Clint rolled his eyes. “You should see this dame, Clint. Stop chasing that wicked neighbor of yours and try a woman who won't shank you just because you scuffed her shoes.”   


“Natasha has never tried to shank me.” Clint argued, and from the other side of the room-- “And if you think  _I_  wouldn’t shank you if you scuffed my shoes, you don’t know me very well at all.” 

“Oh shit.” Bucky straightened up when he saw Pepper standing there, sending her a sheepish smile. “Sorry bout that. Didn’t know you were around.” 

“No harm done.” Pepper winked at him as she took the clipboard and Bucky winked right back. “Of course the reason I’m not _more_ upset is because you are simply smoking hot and your friend--” green eyes flitted over Clint. “-- is rather adorable as well. Otherwise we’d have a real problem, wouldn’t we boys?”   


“Holy shit, yes ma’am.” Clint stammered and Bucky elbowed him to make him shut up. “Where uh-- where should we put all this?”   


“Back wall is fine.” Pepper was already on her way out the door. “No one else is here though, so please make sure the door is shut tight behind you when you leave! Thank you!” 

“I’m in love.” Clint stared open mouthed after Pepper. “Good _Christ_.”

“Tell me about it.” Bucky grunted, pushing a few more boxes towards the wall. “She makes me wish I still liked-- Damn it, Clint get away from there!” he waved Clint back frantically.

“That’s the green screen they use for the weather! You can’t mess with that!” 

“The hell I can't. You heard the hottie, no one else is here today! Go up to that control panel and see if I’m doing this right.” Clint straightened up and pointed as seriously as he could to various spots on the empty screen. “Are these clouds over here? Am I pointing at clouds?” 

“Get away from there!” Bucky hissed. “You know how much trouble we’ll get into if we get caught messing around? We could be fired!” 

“Okay spoilsport.” Clint jogged towards the control panel. “ _You_ get up there and point at clouds then. You’d make a good weatherman, Bucky. Hot and dumb is like a pre-req for this job.”  

“I’m not dumb.” Bucky scowled, but after another minute he gave in and headed towards the green screen. “Alright fine, give me some clouds.”   


“I think if I press this…button….” Clint fiddled with a few of the knobs and Bucky grinned when a picture of himself showed up on the TV just over Clint’s head. “Can you see it? Is there clouds?”   


“This is how weather girls know where to point?” Bucky squinted his eyes at the screen, then pointed towards a cloud. “Holy shit it

worked!"   


“Okay give me your best weather girl impersonation.” Clint leaned back in the chair and finger gunned. “And we’re on in three-two-one!”   


“Good morning, New York.” Bucky affected a high, breathy voice, crossing big arms across his chest as if he were pushing up breasts. “The weather today--” a dramatic point over to the right of the screen. “--will be sunny but we also might get some rain, so wear that bikini but make sure to bring a hat!”   


He winked exaggeratedly and Clint burst into applause. “Yeah weather girl! Get it! Get some!”   


“I could do this job.” Bucky decided. “Switch the screen and give me something else.”   


“Switching the screens..” A few more adjustments and suddenly the view behind Bucky was rolling hills and blue skies, a few cattle in the background. “Give me a yee-haw, sunshine. Let’s see how much giddy-yup is in them britches.”   


“Yee-haw!” Bucky crowed, turning sideways and pretending he was riding a horse, and Clint nearly collapsed in laughter. “Ain’t nothin’ but a purty day out here on the range y’all! Gonna get down to the crik and get me some fish for dinner!”   


“Is this why they call you Bronco?!” Clint shouted and Bucky

shook his hair out dramatically to reply, “Nah, they call me Bronco cos I give em’ the ride of their life!”   


He tossed his head back and  _neighed_ out the top of his lungs, galloping in a circle and slapping at his own ass and Clint was cackling too loudly to hear the door at the other side of the newsroom open.   


“I could do this all day!” Bucky danced a few steps, shaking his butt and doing his absolute best to channel his inner Elvis. “Being a weather girl would be awesome! Look!” he whirled around and struck a pose. “A cloud!” Another spin and point. “Another cloud! And over here--” Bucky spun too fast and lost control, knocking into the chair and sprawling on to the ground.   


“And over here we have a dumbass.” Clint finished, and Bucky retorted, “It was a tornado!”   


“Well either way, that’s not how you move in a tornado.” Clint fiddled with the display again until Bucky was superimposed over a stormy screen. “Show me how you move that body like a cyclone, Bucky baby.”   


“Oh yeah? You want a little of this?” Bucky really was a better dancer than Clint gave him credit for, rolling his body and swiveling his hips and acting like he was going to start stripping at any second. “How about a little of  _this_?”   


“Uh-- Bucky?” Clint’s eyes bugged out when he finally saw the big blonde standing in the doorway next to a shorter man in a gray suit. “Bucky? Why don’t we take it down a notch?”   


“Take it down?” Bucky wasn’t facing him anymore and completely missed any cues Clint was throwing his way. “You mean take it  _off_?”   


A Fed Ex shirt was not sexy at all, but when the man stripping out of it was a few hundred pounds of jaw dropping muscle, even purple and orange looked enticing and while Clint felt bad that he hadn’t been able to stop Bucky in time, he  _was_ a little impressed over how well Bucky managed to shimmy out of his shirt--   


\-- and how high pitched the scream was when Bucky finally

turned around and realized he had an audience.   


“AH! OH MY GOD!” Bucky snatched his shirt up and jammed it back over his head. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! We were just messing around--”   


“Apparently.” The man in gray said, one eyebrow raised as he watched Bucky try to get dressed again. “Having fun, are we?”   


“Seriously, we’re leaving.” Clint turned off everything on the control panel and vaulted over it, grabbing at the cart and running towards the door. “We’re leaving. Super sorry, we were just laughing about being a weather girl and uh--”   


“Please don’t tell our boss!” Bucky blurted. “We didn’t hurt nothin!”  


“What do you think, Steve?” Coulson asked mildly, glancing up at Steve from the corner of his eye. “Should we get the Fed Ex boys fired or give the dancer a chance since we need a weather person anyway and  _apparently_ he knows he could do the job?”   


“Uh--” Steve was about four minutes past broken, eyes wide and mouth open and wishing his pants weren’t quite so tight because he couldn’t quite shake the image of watching the Fed Ex guy moving like  _that_. “Uh-- Duh-- I mean--”   


“Right. Nothing coherent from the sports guy.” Coulson didn’t sound surprised at all. “Alright then. Fed-Ex guy, you want a job as a weatherman?”  


“Are you talking to me?” Bucky turned and looked over his shoulder but there was no one there. “ _Me_? Are you offering me a job?”   


“Well unless your friend wants to audition as well?” Phil offered and Clint shook his head quickly, holding up his hand and backing away a few steps. “Looks like I must be talking to you then, Mr--?”  


“Bucky?” Bucky still sounded shell shocked. “My name’s Bucky?”   


“Is it though?” Phil pressed. “Because you don’t sound super certain.”  


“His name is Bucky.” Clint spoke up from the door. “James Buchanan Barnes, but that’s a terrible name, so we call him Bucky. And he’s a little brain dead right now? But yes, he would love to the be the guy who points at clouds for you.”   


“Should I have your manager-” Clint snorted a laugh at Phil’s air quotes. “-- sign the paperwork or will you be able to do that by yourself?”   


“Oh. Oh my god.” Bucky shook himself out of his stupor. “Yes! I would love a job! YES!”   


“Alright then, I’ve got to be at a meeting.” Phil checked his watch. “And I’m sure you two have to finish your routes, so why don’t you come back tonight and we’ll get you all squared away.”   


“Great!” Bucky shook Phil’s hand enthusiastically. “Yes! I’ll be back tonight!”   


“Great.” Phil said blandly. “Steve, are you coming along? This meeting involves you too.”  


“Uh, yep.” Steve still hadn’t taken his eyes off Bucky, and when the brunette saw him staring, he tipped his head and wet his lips and sent Steve a  _look_ hot enough to make Coulson give up altogether and just walk away. “The name’s Steve Rogers.”  


“Bucky Barnes.” Bucky said slowly, looking Steve up and down a few times. “What do you do around here?”   


“Sports anchor. I give the stats and stuff.” Steve folded his arms and Bucky folded  _his_ arms and Clint folded  _his_ arms before realizing neither his pecs nor his arms were as big as theirs so he gave up and just put his hands in his pockets again. “You’re the new weather guy?”  


“Apparently.”   


“Huh.” Steve said and Bucky said, “Huh.” and then Clint spoke up to say, “Not to interrupt this deeply intellectual exchange, but hey sports guy? Aren’t you the cowboy from that one all male revue? The one who wears the buttless chaps?”   


“OH MY GOD I KNEW I RECOGNIZED YOU!” Bucky shouted, smoldering looks and suggestive glances set aside in favor of pumping his fist in the air. “Easy Ryder! You’re so hot! We went to the Saint Patricks day show!”  


“Oh god.” Steve’s eyes went  _very_ wide and his face went _very_ red. “Okay, um no one here knows I used to do that? Please _god_ don’t tell anyone about that. I don’t want to lose this job because I--”   


“Used to wiggle your wang for dollars?” Clint supplied helpfully. “Is that what you were gonna say?”   


“Not.. no that wasn’t what I was going to say.” Steve sighed. “Seriously, listen--”   


“Tell you what.” Bucky finished buttoning his Fed-Ex shirt. “I gotta finish my route here, then I’ll be back to apparently get hired as a weather guy. Then how bout I buy you a drink and you tell me all about being Easy Ryder?” 

“Yeah?” Steve grinned. “You gonna show me what it's like to handle a Bronco?”   


“Oh  _hell_ yeah.” 

*********************

“Tony, my love.” Pepper kissed Tony’s cheek and handed him the papers for the day. “Have you seen the new weatherman?”  
  


“No, did Phil hire someone good?” Tony took a drink of his coffee, circling the name “Bucky” on the new line up so he remembered to go and introduce himself. “Where did he find him?”   
  


“He’s our Fed-Ex guy.” Pepper said bluntly and Tony nearly choked on his coffee. “Yeah. The Fed-Ex guy. Apparently he was messing around with the green screen yesterday and Phil liked his moves and now he’s out there pointing at clouds.”   
  


“Are you serious?!” Tony bolted out of his chair and towards the newsroom. “God dammit Phil, you are not allowed to hire anyone else! First a sports guy who knows nothing and now a weather man that--”   
  


He skidded to a stop when he caught sight of Bucky in front of the green screen, all long hair and muscles and a heart stopping smile.   
  


Then Tony swiveled to look at Steve with that perfect jawline and bright grin and gorgeous eyes.   
  


“Tony?” Phil looked over at him curiously. “Everything okay?”   
  


“Fuck my life.” Tony ran his hand over his face. “Now there’s two of them.” 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

It started with nothing more than a  _look_.   
  
Sam had worked with Pepper in some capacity or another for almost three years at Channel Eight, but when they both came up for that coveted spot at the main anchors desk, there was a _look_ and everything changed.   
  
Pepper’s green eyes were sharp and knowing over the rim of her coffee mug, and Sam’s were wide and interested because Pepper had never worn a skirt like  _that_ before and he hadn’t known she wore perfume that made him feel a little goofy and now they were sitting no more than a few feet apart every single day.   
  
It was a  _look_ , and then a cup of coffee delivered proudly to Pepper’s desk, Sam waggling his eyebrows as he handed over the cup, the full force of his most charming smile turned solely in Pepper’s direction, waiting for the beautiful redhead to take a sip and declare--  
  
“Samuel Wilson.” Pepper covered her mouth and gagged, spitting the coffee right back out. “What on earth is this? What did you get me to drink?”   
  
“Uh--” Plan spectacularly derailed, Sam gaped at her for a moment. “This is your coffee. I got you your coffee.”   
  
“Oh no no no.” Pepper shook her head. “No no no. I don’t know _whose_ coffee this is, but it’s not mine. I don’t want to tell you how to run your dating schemes--” Sam’s jaw dropped and Pepper smiled a little viciously. “--but keeping which girls drink which coffees straight might help your odds of ever seeing one of us naked.”   
  
“Wha--Wha--” Not sure which part of her statement to object to first, Sam folded his arms and insisted, “It  _is_ your coffee! A quad shot vanilla breve and whip cream and sprinkles! I’ve heard you order it a million different times!”   
  
“Nooooo….” Pepper pushed the coffee away with her pencil and folded her hands primly on her desk. “What you just brought me is a heart attack waiting to happen.  _That_ is not my coffee order at all.”   
  
“But--but--but--!” Sams mouth fell even further open when Tony came jogging up to the anchors desk, placing a tiny espresso cup in front of Pepper.   
  
“Here beautiful, sorry it’s late. They ran out of half and half for my breve and I had to wait around for a minute.” He bussed a kiss onto Pepper’s cheek, then took a swig of his own coffee, a whip cream and sprinkles mustache left over on his top lip. “Morning, Sam.”   
  
“Tony.” Sam eyed the station manager curiously. “So you drink a quad shot vanilla breve with whip cream and sprinkles?”   
  
“Well yeah.” Tony scrunched his nose in Sam’s direction. “Did you think Pepper drank this monstrosity? The caffeine alone would make her hair fall out, plus there’s no way she would fit into those skirts we all love so much if she drank them every day.”   
  
“That’s right.” Pepper sipped at her espresso. “Tony’s ass is the one getting fat, not mine.”   
  
“The truth and nothing else.” Tony declared, patting his own butt playfully just so Pepper would laugh. “Alright you two, we got ten until broadcast. I know you’re nervous, but seriously your numbers have been testing great, the viewers love you. Good luck.”   
  
“Thanks Tony.” Pepper blew him a kiss and went back to studying her notes, not saying a single word as Sam sat down in the other anchors chair and picked up his own papers, letting the awkwardness linger in the air as if she didn’t notice it at all.  
  
And then Sam, after several minutes-- “I’m not running dating schemes.”   
  
“Aw.” Pepper clicked her tongue sympathetically, not looking up from her page. “Of course you aren't.” 

 

*****************

  
It was a  _look_ and then it was a disastrous attempt at getting coffee, and then there was several weeks where everything went perfectly smoothly at work, which inevitably led to the nylon incident.   
  
Post broadcast and Sam desperately needed a snack because thirsting after Pepper for the entire day left a man feeling a bit malnourished, so he headed towards the break room fully intent on getting himself a candy bar.   
  
And he had the best intentions,  _really_ he did, but nothing could distract a man from his snack faster than a gorgeous set of legs and--   
  
“What’s up, Pep?” Sam about broke his neck whipping around to stare at the sight of Pepper stepping out of the ladies room with her usually modest skirt pulled up around her thighs and miles and miles of long legs wrapped in nylons. “Where uh-- What um-- are you--”   
  
“Sam.” Pepper said patiently. “My eyes are rather north of where you are currently staring, thank you.”   
  
“My bad.” Sam jerked his gaze from what might be the prettiest feet he had ever seen--  _that was weird thought_ \-- clear up to Pepper’s face. “Are you okay? Need some help?”   
  
“Actually I do.” Pepper motioned him into the women’s bathroom and without sparing a single thought over how weird it was to be stepping into that particular forbidden zone, Sam followed her.   
  
“I managed to get a clasp at the bottom of my skirt snagged in my nylons.” Pepper admitted, her cheeks turning pink. “And I can’t yank at it without ruining my stockings, but I can’t just leave it up like this either.”  
  
“...right?”   
  
“And I wouldn’t ask you--” she continued. “--but there is a shocking lack of females in this place and Tony is busy talking to Steve, something about not understanding what lacrosse is, so I guess it's up to you.”   
  
“I can help.” Sam said confidently. “And I promise not to look up your skirt while I do it.”   
  
“Such a gentleman.” Pepper teased, and Sam  _was_ a gentleman and he  _wasn’t_ going to look up Pepper’s skirt, but he still almost died when she turned around and offered a rear view of long legs and a wonderfully pert-- “Sam? You alright?”   
  
“Yep, not a creeper.” he said immediately, and knelt down behind her to get a look. “Okay, I see where you’re snagged but I’ve got to touch you to get it loose so--”   
  
“I’m a grown ass woman, Sam.” Pepper sounded a little breath-less when she laughed. “Just unhook me so I can walk out of here in one piece!”   
  
“Alright, hold still.”   
  
It took longer than Sam thought it might, but then again he’d never had to unhook a clasp from nylons and he’d  _certainly_ never had to do it with his face only a few inches from ridiculously pretty thighs and his fingers shaking a tiny bit.   
  
But eventually Pepper was free and Sam was still on his knees when she turned around to look down at him and that was fun for a reason he wasn’t quite ready to think about yet.   
  
“Thank you.” Pepper said very quietly, and yes she was definitely breathless, and the blush was several shades darker and Sam raised his eyebrows when he realized that maybe Pepper wasn’t quite as immune to his legendary charm as she pretended.   
  
“I’ll buy your coffee tomorrow as a thank you.” Pepper had to bend nearly double to kiss Sam’s cheek. “Have a good rest of your night.” 

***************

  
Pepper got Sam’s coffee order exactly right, and he wasn’t surprised by it at all. Of  _course_ she got it right, the woman was quite literally perfect from the shoes she wore clear to the top of her beautiful hair and Sam was just about ass over noggin in love.   
  
“She’s single, you know.” Tony dropped the information casually as he handed Sam a few papers to sign for his upcoming raise. “Broke up with Brock about six months ago and hasn’t been seeing anyone since.”   
  
“Oh I know.” Sam signed his name with a flourish and reached for the next paper. “I am well aware of that fact.  _Very_ aware of that fact.  _So_ aware of that single little piece of information that I’ve been having trouble sleeping.”   
  
“Oh yeah?” Tony was still ever so casual. “ _That’s_ the information that has you up at night thinking about Pepper? That specific information?”   
  
“Getting a raise is not worth you giving me grief about Pepper.” Sam decided. “Not worth it at all.”   
  
“So I have to decide between giving you a raise or consistently busting your balls about the gorgeous redhead we work with?” Tony snatched the paperwork and made like he was going to leave. “Good luck paying your bills this month, Sam.”   
  
“Oh for fucks sake, get back here--”   
  


*****************

  
Sam prided himself on being smooth, but something about Pepper made him stutter and stammer and generally make a fool of himself, so the first time he managed to be suave and charming and actually clever was a day that went down in the books.   
  
It started not with a look, but with a pencil being dropped as Pepper reached for her coffee and Sam lunged out of his chair to pick it up, barely managing to catch himself before face planting on the floor.   
  
“Careful, Sam.” As put together as always, Pepper barely blinked at his near accident. “Any faster and I would have thought you weren’t so much catching my pencil as you were falling head over heels for me.”   
  
“Oh yeah?” Sam set the pencil back on the desk and folded his arms with a smirk. “Well, I guess I’ll have to make it a little more obvious next time so you know exactly which one I’m doing.”   
  
 _Halllujah, I said something halfway to clever._    
  
“Mmhmm.” Pepper didn’t sound impressed. “As long as you don’t scuff my shoes, these are worth more than that ridiculous car you drive.”   
  
“Ridiculous car?” Sam repeated. “I only drive that car for the leg room, Ms. Potts.”   
  
“Is that so?” The barest corner of Pepper’s mouth twitched in a smile. “Need lots of leg room, Mr. Wilson?”   
  
“I need lots of leg room for people with lots of legs.” Sam returned evenly.  _Alright, not as clever, bring it back and save the moment_. “I guarantee I got enough room for you and your gams.”   
  
“A Sam Wilson guarantee, my oh my.” Pepper was laughing and teasing, but there was nothing _teasing_ about the way she turned in her chair and very pointedly crossed one gorgeous leg over the over, waiting until Sam’s eyes had traveled clear down one and all the way up the other before adding, “You seem awfully confident about me and my gams fitting in your car, put much thought into this sort of thing?”   
  
“More than you’d think.” Well within his flirt-element, Sam sent her a wink. “What sort of things do  _you_ think about when you’re in the car, Pep?”   
  
“Oh you know, the normal things.” A slim shoulder lifted in a shrug. “How long it will take me to get home, whether or not I should stop for food...” an exaggerated sigh. “Whether or not I’m ready to start dating again or if I’m actually just horny and need a vigorous  _shag_.”   
  
Sam was still choking when Tony started the countdown to the broadcast, and he still looked like he was trying to remember to breathe when Pepper read in the opening remarks and turned to him with a sunny smile and nonchalant expression.   
  
“What’s going on with Sammy boy?” Bucky leaned over to whisper to Steve. “He’s actin’ dumber than usual.”   
  
“Dunno, maybe he got lucky last night and is still all stupid from it.” Steve suggested. “I mean, _I’m_ all stupid after a good loving, he sort of has the same smile on his face. “  
  
“You  _are_ all stupid after some good lovin’.” Bucky agreed. “But ain’t the same sorta stupid Sam is right now--”   
  
“I can hear you through the mics!” Sam shouted once they had gone to commercial and Bucky and Steve jumped guiltily. “Stop talking about how stupid I look!”   
  
Pepper put both hands over her face to muffle her laughter and Sam scowled and in the back of the room, Tony threw his hands up in exasperation. It was bad enough that Bucky and Steve were worthless, he could not have his main anchors slacking too.   
  
 _Jesus Christ._

*****************

  
  
“Making copies?” Sam asked, poking his head around the door and watching as Pepper stapled a few things.   
  
“I  _am_ in the copy room, Sam.” Pepper winked at him over her shoulder. “What else would I be doing in here if I wasn’t making copies?”   
  
“Well I dunno.” Bolstered by weeks of subtle flirting and then a few days of not at all subtle flirting, Sam shut the door behind him and sauntered up behind the red head, clearing his throat quietly so she knew where he was, and smiling when she stepped back so his hand landed right about her waist. “There’s other things to do in a copy room.”   
  
“I’m fairly certain there are only two things to do in a copy room.” Pepper corrected, retrieving a stack of papers from the corner of the desk. “One of them I’m doing right now, and the other requires a locked door and a willingness to get bruises in the shape of a copier tray.”   
  
“Yeah?” Sam looked back at the door then over at the copier. “And those are… deal breakers? Locked doors and copy machine bruises?”   
  
“Not at all.”   
  
“Huh.” Another look back at the door. “So uh--”   
  
“Are we going to do this or what, Mr. Wilson?” Pepper dropped the papers and turned around so they were face to face and nearly eye to eye before kicking out of her heels so she only came to Sam’s chin, blinking up at him from beneath her lashes. “Because this little game has either got to step  _up_ \--” a pointed look down below Sam’s belt line “-- or fizzle away and I’d be awfully disappointed if we went with the second option.”   
  
Sam grabbed her up in a hard kiss, fitting his hands around the tiny waist and gathering Pepper close, moving from casually chatting to -- _ahem_ \--  _rising_ to the situation almost embarrassingly fast.   
  
“ _Mm-hmm_.” Pepper made a low sort of contented noise as they kissed, parting her lips to deepen the embrace and when Sam’s hands slipped experimentally lower, she stood up on her toes to encourage that particular touch to happen a little faster.  
  
“We only have ten minutes to broadcast.” Sam managed as Pepper started pulling at his belt. “And Tony will kill us if we are late.”   
  
“Don’t worry--” Pepper’s long legs wrapped around his waist and Sam’s brain just about went offline. “Just this once I won’t make fun of you for being a quick draw.”   
  
“Just this once?” Sam would have laughed, but honestly he was barely breathing now that Pepper had slipped out of her blouse. “Uh  _yep_. Quick draw. But I will make it up to you I promise.”   
  
“Not in your car, Sam.”   
  
“But there’s so much leg room!” 

 

*****************

With one minute to go till broadcast, Pepper left the copy room with her hair perfectly in tact, suit straightened and high heels on, offering Steve and Bucky a smile as she passed.   
  
Sam left the copy room with tie askew and belt only half on, a dopey, goofy grin on his face and something of a wave as he passed.   
  
“Huh.” Steve watched them go. “Sam sure looks stupid.”   
  
“Makin’ copies is hard.” Bucky shrugged. “Pepper obviously knew what she was doin’, but Sam’s only half as smart as he looks.”   
  
“Making copies?” Steve repeated as he followed Bucky down to their desks. “Where do they make copies? Do we even have a copy room? 

 


End file.
